Improvement in reed musical instruments



Patented Aug. 29, 1871.

JOSEPH FOSTER. Improvement in Reed Musical Instruments. No.118,445.

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[74.] 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

JOSEPH FOSTER. Improvement in Reed Musical Instruments. No.118,445. Patented Aug. 29, 1871.

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JOSEPH FOSTER, OF KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND EPHRAIM FOSTER, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN REED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 118,445, dated August 29, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH FOSTER, of Keene, in the county of Cheshire and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification My invention relates to a new and improved method of attaching one or more reed-boards to the windchest of reed instruments in which suction-bellows are employed, by inserting the said reed-board or boards within the wind-chest, and operating the valve by a lever or arm from the ordinary valve; the object being to improve the quality of tone, and render the reeds easy of access.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is an upper-side view of a portion of a wind-chest and reed-board of an instrument with my improvement applied, the drawing being of full size. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the wind-chest, reedboards, and other portions of a reedorgan with my improvement applied, the section being made in the line 00 of Fig. 1.

At the left hand of Fig. 2 are seen parts of an ordinary reed instrument, having two sets of reeds operated in the usual way by one valve. A is the key; D, the tracker or pit-pin to operate the valve; E, the swelLca-se; F, the double reedboard, with reeds G in front, and other reeds, G, in the back of it, with a single valve, H, for both sets of reeds. The dotted lines in the reed-boards show the openings for the passage of air. M is a reed-board inserted perpendicularly downward in the top R of the windchest O,'which is made deep enough to admit the reed-board and action. The reed is seen at N, and O is the valve for this reed. The valve H has a projection, K, extending downward, so

that the valve being hinged at the elbow I operates as a bent lever, acting on the tracker L, which passes to the valve 0, projecting down ward a little below the board M. Thus, pressure on the key A not only opens the valve H as usual, but, through the bent portion K and the tracker L, also opens the valve 0. I is the swell-box, operated by the raising and closing of its lid. S is the passage by which air is pumped from the wind-chest by the bellows. In Fig. l the swells are removed, and only a part of the front double reed-board F is seen, with the ends G of one set of reeds projecting. D D are the holes for the pit-pins or trackers. The upper part of Fig. 1 shows the edge of the reed-board M, which projects but little or none above the top R of the wind-chest. T T are the openings for the passage of air; and at N N are seen the ends of the reeds, which are thus perfectly easy of access for tuning or repairing when the swell is open ed. Another reed-board may be inserted in the same way, with a tracker and valve operating as L and O, or as many other repetitions of the same arrangements as desired.

I claim as my invention 1. The reed-board or boards M, let into the wall of the wind-chest and nearly inclosed thereby, substantially as specified.

2. The valve H, having the attached lever K, made and operating substantially as described.

3. The combination of the bent lever-valve H with the tracker L and reed-board M in the wind-chest, substantially as described.

JOSEPH FOSTER.

Witnesses:

S. H. BRAOKETT, L. W. FELT. 

